My first touring trip would be to Turkey
 

Hi all,

I'm a newbie on this forum, so I'm still reading the huge amount of info on the site. It's a great place to be, really :)

I am a Romanian, but have been living in Cyprus (Greek part) for the last 6 years.

Me and a friend are planning a 10 days trip to Turkey, this May (suggestions on the best period/weather to be in Turkey?).

The journey will start in Limassol, Cyprus and we'll enter Turkey through Tasucu (by ferry). This will be the exit point from Turkey as well.


The bikes are: 2002 Ducati Monster 620ie and 2004 Honda CBF600N. So no offroad/bad roads for us this time, but only good roads (and no highways).

I have noted down few interesting touristic points: Cappadocia, Konya, Pamukkale, Kusadasi, Antalya. So I think that this trip will take place in the south-west-middle part of Turkey as the time is short.

My main concern so far is to trace a route which will take us through most of the above mentioned places and still be back in time (we need 2 days for ferry crossing Cyprus-Turkey-Cyprus). Any help on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan P

hi dan,

first of all hope you enjoy your time in Turkiye. It is a good choise for first long distance bike holiday.

I am not sure how you will enter from Greek part of Cypriot to Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. I think people with EU passport can cross this border without any problem.

Timing: Best time would be 1-15 June or 10-20 September. July and August is extremly hot.

10 days including two days on ferry is a bit tight schedule. If you are short of time try to avoid Kusadasi. You may see the similar things on the South Coast (the Mediteranian).

I have drown a route for you, see if it is ok.

http://rtw.ozhanu.com/resim/turkiye.jpg

if you need more help i am around somewhere here ;)

have fun..

Thanks Ozhan for your reply,

There's no more problems in crossing from the Greek part to Turkish one these days. Anybody can cross now.

Your suggested route looks like something I had in mind. I just need to trace it precisely, with road names/numbers, in order to avoid the ones not suited for sports bikes.

Dan P

Try not to miss Ephesus. A really stunning place to visit ( and to picnic)

We'll try not to miss it. So far we're spending:

- 2 days on ferry
- 1 full day in Cappadocia
- 1 full day in Ephesus

The route is around 2000 km, and we're left with 6 days for the road. So that'll be around 350 km / day to cover the distance, which is doable.

I'll post more when I'll have the route traced in more detailed.

Thanks,
Dan P

Extensions
 

Just two suggestions for both west and east ends of the map recommended:

West: Take the road from Marmaris to Datca all along that peninsula and take a ferry from Datca to Bodrum. Don't miss out Knidos where Aegean and Mediterranean seas meet.

East: At least extend your route to see Mt. Nemrut.

Send a PM if you happen to be around Izmir for some cheers and beers.

GPS maps
 

Hi Ozhanu & Cozcan,

do you know of any downloadable Garmin-compatible maps of Turkey?


Hans

dear hans,

i am sorry but i dont use gps at the moment. will buy soon tho. actually you dont need gps for Turkiye. the best gps is the people i think. in Turkiye everyone will help you if you ask for the directions and also offer tea, cakes etc.. you may only need gps in big cities like istanbul or ankara.

dear dan (and also for hans),

the roads in Turkiye have ofcourse numbers but no one knows them except the O4 (aka TEM) which is between Ankara-Istanbul and beyond (to Europa) and D100 (aka E5) which is also between Ankara-Istanbul and to Europa. other then these roads, in Turkiye, roads are always known with the city names. ex: there are Konya Road which takes you to Konya from Ankara, same for Samsun Road, Istanbul Road, etc... and on the sign posts you will always see the city names rather then the number of the roads. in the UK the number of the road is important and not the city, but, vice-versa in Turkiye.

btw you can easly cover 350 km/day in Turkiye.. 500 km/day is also doable by bike.. if you push harder 800 km/day is also achievable but no need to that much ride.

i am situated in Ankara but will move to Istanbul in a couple of month to another university.

so, you all have always welcome for free accomodation and/or coffee/beer.

Hope this hepls..

heve fun..

ps: cozcan, i have sent you a pm last week, did you have time to have a look of it?

That's reassuring... I was worried that the leg Izmir - Antalya (which is around 500 km) would be difficult to be covered in a day.

I'm preparing the route in Google Earth and will post the file when done, for some reviews/feedback.

Thanks,
Dan P

Thanks cozcan. The road from Marmaris to Knidos looks very interesting indeed. Will see if we have time to do it...

Dan P

Dear Dan,

If you do not take the coastal road between Izmir-Antalya it is easy to cover it in a day.

This is Izmir -> Aydin -> Denizli -> Antalya.

hope this helps

ps: detailed Turkiye map can be found at: http://nano.bilkent.edu.tr/~ncafm07/pics/tr_map.JPG

If you cover the route between Izmir and Antalya in a day (and it is comfortably doable even in 6 hours) you miss a lot of things either along the coastline or inland (Saklikent comes to my mind).

Take it easy and enjoy the ride while discovering. If you really have to compromise compromise from the destination not from the journey.

PS: sorry ozhanu, I have missed your PM, but I did reply today.

Hi Ozhanu,

sounds good! Especially the last part ;-) I can't say when, but hope to visit Turkey next year in sping. Maybe whith a detour to Syria.

I'll contact you. A beer is always a great idea :-)))

Hans